Wheel press



Jan, '7, 1941. J. 5. RQDGERS 2,223fi86 WHEEL PRESS Filed May 11, 1939 3Sheets-Sheet l ll 35 w J 3e 6,,

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1941 J. 5. RODGERS WHEEL PRESS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 11, 1959.[NVENTOB JZIMEJ a. EODGERJ m w MM 5 separable securing means.

menisci. 7, 1941 PATENT orrlce WHEEL PRESS James S. Rodgers,Minneapolis, Minn, aselgnor to Rodgers Hydraulic Incorporated,Minneapolis, Mimi a corporation of Minnesota Application May 11, 1939,Serial No.'272,999

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in presses andmore particularly to a hydraulic wheel press adapted to force a tire of!or on to the rim of a wheel.

Wheels, such as commonly used on numerous commercial and army trucks,are usually constructed entirely of metal and have a rim turned to apredetermined diameter to receive the tire rim. The tire, as is wellknown, is provided with an annular metallic'rim having outwardly turnedflanges between which the usual rubber tire is mounted. The tire rim isbored to receive the rim of the wheel under pressure, whereby it isretained on the wheel by friction and without A tire rim of the pressuretype, which is usually retained on the wheel by a press fit, isfrequently very diflicult to remove, after the wheel has been in use fora period of time, and may require considerable pressure to force it offthe wheel. Because of the great pressure required to remove such tires,presses of the type now commonly employed, are extremely heavy and .aretherefore diificult to move about from place to place. The reason thatconventional presses are made so large and heavy is primarily becausethe connection between the thrust member and the table or pressuremember is spaced outwardly from the axis of these two members in orderto permit clearance for inserting a wheel therebetween.

The novel press herein disclosed, because of its novel design, isconsiderably lighter in weight than conventional presses, in that theusual connec- 85 tions between the thrust member and the table orpressure member are located within the diameter of the wheel, and are inthe form of steel rods which pass between the spokes of the wheel sothat the pressure exerted against the thrust member by the wheel, whenthe pressure member is operated, is confined within the diameter of thewheel. By this novel construction, the entire apparatus may be made agreat deal lighter in weight, whereby it may be portable so that it canreadily be moved about from place to place. This is a very desirablefeature, particularly in wheel presses, in that the press may readily betransported from place to place, whereby the work of changing tires maybe done on the job, rather than having to transport the truck or truckwheels to a press located at a remote point, which may result in costlydelays. I

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a portablepress of the character disclosed, which is comparatively light inweight,

whereby it may readily be moved about from one place to another on atruck or trailer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wheel press comprisinga suitable base having a plurality of rods secured thereto at one endand 5 disposed in spaced relation, and upper and lower pressure membersbeing mounted on said rods between which a wheel and tire may besupported in the operation of pressing the tire on or ad the wheel, andsuitable pressure means being provided for operating said members.

Other objects oi the invention reside in the novel arrangement of thetable and thrust mem-' ber, and the tension rods connecting togetherthese parts; in the spacing and arrangement of the rods, whereby theymay readily be passed between the spokes of the wheel so that the forceexerted on the pressuremembers and said rods will be uniformlydistributed thereon, whereby the parts may be made considerably lighterin weight; in the provision of a pressure ring, the diameter of which issubstantially equal to or slightly less than the diameter of the wheel,whereby it may pass through the rim of the tire, while in engagementwith the wheel rim, in the operation of forcing the tire rim ed thewheel; in the provision of a combination guide and thrust ring adaptedto be clamped to the periphery of the wheel and which serves to guidethe wheel accurately into the tire rim, and also as a gauge toaccurately position the tire rim on the wheels; in the construction ofthe thrust member, whereby it may readily be attached to or detachedfrom the tension rods to facilitate positioning the pressure ring andwheel upon the lower thrust member or table; in the means for accuratelypositioning the guide and thrust ring upon the wheel, whereby it will beslightly offset from the median plane of the wheel, thereby to provideat one side of the wheel, a seat for receiving the pressure ring and atits opposite side, a seat for receiving the tire rim whereby said partswill be axially alined, and whereby the wheel may be accurately guidedinto the tire; and, in the simple and compact construction of theapparatus, whereby it may be made extremely light in weight, as comparedto other structures of this general character, and also whereby it maybe manufactured at small cost, and also whereby it may readily bedismantled to facilitate loading it into or oif a truck, when necessary.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in theannexed 5 claims.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the exact featuresshown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims whicfollow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the press showing a wheel andtire positioned thereon, prior to pressing the wheel into the tire rim;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the table or lower thrust memberelevated to press the wheel into the tire rim;

Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view showing the table removed from thetension rods and a convenient manner of positioning the split guide andthrust ring upon the wheel;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the guide ring;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1, with the parts positioned toforce the wheel out of the tire rim;

Figure 7 is a view showing a portion of the press and the means foractuating the ram; and

Figure 8 is a sectional plan view on the line 88 of Figure 7.

The novel press herein disclosed, is shown comprising a suitable base,generally indicated by the numeral 2, which may, for all practicalpurposes, be made of cast metal. An annular supporting member 3 is shownsecured to one end of the base 2 by suitable bolts 4; The annularsupporting member 3 provides a support for a plurality of tension rods5, having their lower ends suitably secured therein, as shown at 8 inFigure 7. The tension rods 5 extend upwardly from the base 2 in spacedparallel relation, and

are arranged to pass between the spokes l of the wheel, generallyindicated by the numeral 8, in Figures 1 and 2. The upper portions ofthe rods 5 are preferably reduced in diameter, as shown in the drawings,and their terminals 9 are threaded to receive suitable nuts II.

A feature of the present invention resides in the novel construction ofthe wheel and tire rim supporting means. The means provided forsupporting the wheel and tire rim is shown comprising a suitable tableor lower pressure member, generally indicated by the numeral l2, whichis mounted for sliding movement on the lower portions of the rods 5.When the apparatus is inoperative, the lower supporting member or tablel2 may be supported upon the upper end of a cylinder l3, mounted on thesupporting member 3, as best shown in Figure 1. A threaded stud I 4 maybe provided to retain the cylinder in position upon the supportingmember 3.

0 The cylinder l3 has a ram l5 mounted therein, to the lower end ofwhich is secured a piston Hi. The upper end of the ram projects throughthe top wall I! of the cylinder and is shown received in a socket l8provided in the bottom of the table 65 I2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Means is provided for introducing fluid pressure into the cylinder belowthe piston I6, and is here shown comprising a suitable pump, generallyindicated by the numeral l9. This pump is shown- 70 and described indetail in my Patent No. 2,092,738,

and is provided with a suitable pumping mechanism 2| adapted to beactuated by an operating handle 22, whereby the fluid in the pump I9 isforced into the cylinder I 3 below the piston I6.

75 thereby to raise the ram to elevate the table l2,

as will readily be understood. The pump l9 may be connected to thecylinder l5 by a flexible concuit 23. The pump is preferably mounted onone end of the base 2, as shown in Figure 7.

As best shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7, the upper surface of the table l2may be provided with a plurality of annular recesses 24 and 25,corresponding to different wheel diameters. A pressure ring 26 isadapted to be seated in one of the recesses of the table I2, and inFigures 1 and 2, 1s 10 shown seated in the smaller recess 25. Thediameter of the thrust ring 26 is substantially equal to or slightlyless than the outside diameter of the wheel 8, so that it may beextended partially into the tire rim 21, as shown in Figure 1, therebyto 15 axially aline the tire rim 2! with the rim of the wheel.

A clamping ring 29 which preferably is split, as shown at 3| in Figure5, is adapted to be fitted onto the wheel, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.The 20 ring 29 is frictionally secured to the wheel rim by tighteningthe clamping screws 32' of the ring.

Another feature of the invention resides in the construction of theupper thrust member, generally indicated by the numeral 33, which isadapted 25 to be engaged with the upper ends of the tension rods 5, asshown in Figures 1, 2, and 6. The thrust member 33 has a finished lowersurface 34, which is disposed in parallel relation to the upper face ofthe lower thrust member l2. The member 33 3 is adapted to be engaged bythe rim of the tire, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 or by the guide ring29, as shown in Figure 6, 1n the operation of mounting the tire on thewheel or removing it therefrom. To facilitate mounting the wheel on 35the pressure ring 26 supported on the table 12, as shown in Figure 1,the thrust member 33 is so constructed that it may readily be removedfrom the upper end of the tension rods by partially rotating it in onedirection to disengage it from the 40 rods 5 and nuts H. To thusfacilitate removing the thrust member from the rods, recessed guides 35are provided in the arms 31 of the member 33 for receiving the rods 5.The guides 35 are open at one side, as clearly illustrated in Figure 3.The 45 spaces 35 between the spokes 31 of the thrust member 33 aresufliciently large to permit the nuts II on the rods 5 to readily passtherebetween, when the thrust member is partially rotated to disengagethe guides 35 from the rods 5. It will 59 thus be seen that for ordinaryuse, or at least, when operating on wheels of a given size, it is notnecessary to remove the nuts from the rods or tighten them against thethrust member. The nuts II are of course, so positioned on the rods 5,55 that their lower faces will be disposed in a given plane, whereby thethrust exerted against the nuts will be uniformly distributed on therods 5.

In the operation of removing a the from the wheel, the wheel with thetire mounted thereon 60 is positioned upon the pressure ring 26, asshown in Figure 6. The tire rim is usually slightly wider than theperiphery of the wheel whereby it projects slightly beyond the sideedges of the wheel rim, as shown in Figure 6. This slight projection ofthe rim beyond the edge of the wheel rim, provides a seat and guide forthe upper end of the pressure ring 25, so that the wheel is not likelyto become disarranged on the thrust ring, when pressed thereon.

After the wheel has been placed upon the pressure ring, as shown inFigure 6, the guide ring 29 is placed upon the upper end of the tirerim, after which the thrust member 33 is seated on the guide ring 29 andmoved into locking engagement with the upper ends of the rods by aslight rotary movement thereof, as will be understood with reference toFigure 3. The bore of the guide ring 29 may be varied by manipulation ofthe clampin screws 32, so that the wheel may readily enter the guidering, when the ram is operated. When the parts have been positioned asshe in Figure 6, the pump I9 is operated, whereupon the ram is thrustupwardly against the table l2 by the delivery of fluid into the cylinderbeneath the piston 06. Continued movement of the ram will elevate thelower thrust member or table. l2

and thus force the wheel out of the tire rim and into the guide ring 29,as will readily be underrelation and the same applies to the oppositeedges of the pressure ring 26, whereby the wheel cannot bind, as aresult of uneven pressure applied thereto by the pressure ring 28, whenthe table is elevated.

. When the wheel has been pressed out of the tire rim and into the guidering 23, the ram may be lowered to its normal position, as shown inFigures 1 and 6, after which the upper thrust member 33 may readily bedisengaged from the upper ends of the tension rods to permit convenientremoval from the apparatus, of the wheel and guide ring, and also thetire.

In the operation of pressing the wheel into the rim, the guide ring 23is first clamped onto the wheel, as shown in Figure 4. 'To facilitatemounting the guide ring on the wheel, the thrust member 33 may beutilized, and is preferably placed in an inverted position on the floor,as shown in Figure 4. The wheel is then placed on the upper finishedsurface 36 of the thrust member, after which the guide ring is fittedonto the wheel. To accurately position the guide ring 23 upon the wheel,suitable spacing elements 38 may be inserted between the lower edge ofthe guide ring 23 and the top surface 33 of the thrust member 33,whereby the edges 33 of the guide ring will be disposed in parallelrelation to the adjacent edges ii of the wheel. The clamping screws 32are then tightened to frictionally secure the guide ring 23 to theperiphery of the wheel. If desired, the spacing elements 33 may beinseparably attached to the guide ring 23 by suitable means, such aschain elements, not shown.

By reference to Figure 4, it will be noted that the guide ring 23 isslightly oiiset from the median plane of the wheel. The purpose of thusoiisetting the guide ring on the wheel is to provide an annular seat 5?at one side of the wheel for receiving the rim of the tire, and at thesame time, an annular seat 33 is provided at the opposite side of thewheel for receiving one edge of the pressure ring 26, as shown in Figurel. The guide ring 23 is secured to the periphery of the wheel in such amanner that frictional contact between the periphery of the wheel andthe bore of the guide ring will cause the opposite edges of theperiphery of the wheel to be maintained in parallel relation withrespect to the tire rim 2'8, whereby it will accurately enter the boreof the tire rim, as the ram is operated. The guide ring 29 also preventsthe wheel from becoming misalined with the tire rim, in the operation ofpressing the wheel into the rim, which is essential because of thegreater pressure usually required to pressthe wheel into the the rim.

When the wheel with the guide ring secured thereto, as shown in Figure4, is removed from the thrust member 33 and placed on the pressure ring26, as shown in Figure 1, it is inverted from the position shown inFigure 4, whereby the lower edge or seat 48 provided by offsetting theguide ring upon the wheel, will engage the upper edge of the pressurering 28. When the wheel is thus positioned, the upper end of the wheelwill project above the upper edge of the guide ring, and partially intothe'tire rim, thereby serving as a means for centering the rim upon thewheel, whereby the wheel will accurately enter the rim in the initialoperation of pressing the wheel into the rim.

The guide ring 29 also serves as a limit stop for preventing the wheelfrom being pressed too far into the rim,'as will readily be understoodby reference to- Figure 2. In this figure, it will be noted that the topsurface of the lower thrust member or table I2 is engaged with the loweredge of the guide ring 29, whereby further upward movement of the tablei2 is interrupted because of the guide ring and tire rim beingabuttingly engaged with one another between the table 82 and thrustmember 33. When the table i2 reaches the position shown in Figure 2, themedian plane of the wheel will coincide with the median plane of thetire, whereby the tire is properly positioned upon the wheel. The rammay then be lowered and the thrust member 33 removed from the tensionrods, as hereinbefore described, after which the wheel, with the tiremounted thereon, may conveniently be removed from the apparatus.

By passing the tension rods 3 between the spokes of the wheel, as shownin the drawings, the weight of the entire apparatus may be greatlyreduced, because of the forces being transmitted through the wheel andnot around the periphery thereof, as is customary in conventionalpresses.

It will also be noted that if the apparatus, in its assembled form, isfound too heavy to conveniently transport from one place to another, itmay readily be dis-assembled by simply removing the nuts it from theupper ends of the tension rods, after which the thrust member 33 andtable i2 may readily be removed from the tension rods.

In some cases it may also be found desirable to remove the rods 5 fromthe base 3, in which case the nuts it need not be detached from therods. When the rods are thus removed from the base, the base andcylinder assembly is materially lightened in weight, and may be morereadily handled.

By the employment of the novel wheel press herein disclosed, theoperation of removing a tire from a wheel, or mounting it thereon, isgreatly facilitated and expedited. Because of the uniform distributionof the forces transmitted from the ram through the wheel against thethrust member 33, there is no danger of the parts becoming misalined tocause damage to the wheel or tire rim. It will also be noted, by theunique mounting of the cylinder upon the supporting member 3, that theforces imparted to the apparatus, when the ram is operated, are nottransmitted to the base 2, as the rods are supported entirely in thesupporting member 3, and as the cylinder I3 is also mounted upon thismember, the forces are transmitted to the base 3, rods 5, and the partsmounted on the rods, and not to the base 2. The apparatus is extremelysimple and inexpensive in construction whereby it may readily bemanufactured in quantity production, at small cost.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a portable press or the class described, a base having a pluralityof rods secured thereto and spaced equidistant apart in circularformation and adapted to pass between the spokes or a wheel, a lowerthrust member slidable on the rods, an upper thrust member removablyengaged with said rods, an annular member adapted to engage one of saidthrust members and the tire rim, means on the other oi! said thrustmembers adapted to engage the wheel rim, and means for impartingrelative axial movement to said thrust members in opposite directions,whereby the tire rim is forced of! the wheel, the connection between therods and said thrust members causing the force exerted thereon to beuniformly distributed around the circumierence of the wheel.

2. A portable wheel press comprising a plurality of rods mounted infixed relation, thrust members mounted on said rods adapted to rethrustmembers and having its opposite edge received in said last mentionedannular seat, means for forcing the thrust members towards one another,whereby the wheel is forced out of said guide member and into the tirerim, and means whereby the frictional engagement of said guide memberwith the wheel rim may be controlled so as to maintain the tire rim andwheel rim in true axial alinement while forcing said tire and wheel rimsinto operative relation.

JAMES S. RODGERS.

